Study uncovers universal cause of 'aging'

Cambridge, United States, November 27: A new study conducted by Harvard University scientists and published online on Wednesday in the scientific journal Cell, uncovered what may be a 'universal cause of aging'.

Lead author of the study, David A. Sinclair, a Harvard Medical School professor and co-founder of the Cambridge biotechnology company Sirtris Pharmaceuticals Inc, Cambridge, United States, believes that cells’ decreasing ability to detect patterns of gene expression plays a key role in aging. Sirtris Pharmaceuticals is known for its development of an experimental drug called resveratrol.

The study author said that during the process of aging, cells have more difficulty understanding which genesdefine are switched 'on' and which are switched 'off' in a particular setting.

Prof. Sinclair said, "What this paper actually implies is that aspects of aging may be reversible." Adding further he said, "It sounds crazy, but in principle it should be possible to restore the youthful set of genes, the patterns that are on and off."

Researchers have known for quite sometime that sirtuins, the group of proteins that may be able to control age-related disorders in mammals, are involved in the aging process. SIRT1 is the member of this class of enzymes and is currently the most studied of the group. Prof. Sinclair wrote in the paper that sirtuins help maintain a youthful pattern of gene expression by ensuring that the genes that should be “off” remain silent.

When SIRT1 is stimulated by either the red-wine chemical resveratrol or caloric restriction, it appears to have a positive effect on both aging and health, the researchers reported in journal Cell. Professor Sinclair has been taking large daily doses of resveratrol since he and others discovered five years ago that it activated sirtuin.

“I’m still taking it, and I feel great,” he said, “but it’s too early to say if I’m young for my age.”

Sirtris Pharmaceuticals Inc is trying to use drugs based on an extract in red wine to fight Type 2 Diabetesdefine and other age-related diseases. Sirtris is also engaged in human clinical trials for type 2 Diabetes and MELAS, a mitochondrial disorder.